Man charged in September assault outside Minnesota State Fair

Gunner McClellen, 21, of St. Paul, Minnesota is charged in an assault outside the Minnesota State Fair on Sept. 1. (Credit: Ramsey County Jail) 

A St. Paul, Minnesota man was charged Friday in an assault outside the Minnesota State Fair in September. 

The assault occurred on Sept. 1 at 12:30 a.m. in the area of Albert Street and Breda Avenue. When St. Paul police officers arrived at the scene, they found a man who had been severely beaten

According to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, the victim suffered severe head injuries and underwent surgery to relieve pressure and swelling of his brain. 

Gunner McClellan, 21, is charged with first-degree assault in connection with the incident.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim and his friends were walking back to their car after drinking and hanging out at the fair. They passed a house where the suspect, 21-year-old Gunnar McClellen and some friends were reportedly waiting for rides after drinking and hanging out at the fair until midnight. 

As the victim and his friends walked by, McClellen and another man started calling them names. The victim and his friends continued walking, but McClellen and the other man followed them. 

In interviews with police, the both of the victim’s friends said McClellan and the other man wanted to fight, but the victim and his friends told the pair they were not interested in fighting. 

The other man began to assault one of the victim’s friends and another friend tried to push him off. As that was happening, the McClellen hit the victim once in the face. The victim’s friend said the victim fell to the ground “like a ton of bricks” and began to bleed. The friends called police and McClellen and the other man fled the scene. 

Two witnesses who were with MClellen and the other man at the house later went to police to discuss the assault. One of the witnesses said she had known McClellen and the other man to start fights in the past.  

In an interview with police, McClellen claimed the older men were aggressive and went at them first. 

McClellen is charged with first-degree assault in connect with the incident.